Economic Crisis Could Kill the Final Harry Potter Films?
Last week Disney quietly dropped a pretty major bombshell about their decision to stop financing The Chronicles of Narnia series. Some called it a sign of the times, while others felt it was simply a logical response to the box office drop-off for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Well, as it turns out, this may not be an isolated incident after all.
According to The Independent, The Chronicles of Narnia isn’t the only major fantasy series that could suffer setbacks as a result of the current U.S. recession. Studios are cutting costs anywhere they can, and almost all special effects-driven films with large budgets are being eyed with suspicion and dismay. Even Harry Potter. Yes, despite being considered “the most profitable franchise in film history”, screenwriter Steve Kloves recently revealed that Warner Brothers have concerns that the final three Harry Potter films will underperform. Without new books coming out to drive anticipation and public interest, they feel that the movies could fade away. Personally I think that’s just crazy talk, but who knows… if Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince shows even the slightest sign of faltering, it’s possible that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will never see the light of day. Then again, if Warner Brothers didn’t delay the stupid thing, maybe they wouldn’t have to worry about people losing interest!
Comments (6)
I agree…THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
1. I think the final 2 films will make more money than the few that came before them because casual fans will realize it’s their last chance to see HP films in theatres.
2. The final book only involves Hogwarts in the climactic final battle…those that have only seen the movies and think they have been to similar may be drawn out of their hole.
3. The WB is rolling in money right now (The Dark Knight).
4. Imagine the riots.
Posted by Ryan M. on December 30th, 2008theres far more to lose by not finishing.
the box sets! the box sets!
i can’t believe they would not think more long-term about why they need to finish up.
Posted by Goon on December 30th, 2008There is NO way this happens. Narnia and Golden Compass are getting shitcanned b/c the movies didn’t do well. Potter is a license to print money. Anyone who has watched the others will definitely see the last ones.
Posted by Wes Stover on December 30th, 2008I think the final Harry Potter films will definitely get made, but I can also see them under performing. For one, the kids who went out to the first film in droves (making it the most financially successful of the five released thus far) are significantly older now and a) don’t require parental supervision (i.e. double the admission price) and possibly b) have moved on as they got older and don’t have quite the same frenzy to see the new movies as they did when they were younger.
I’m hoping this actually convinces them to make the final book into a single movie in order to save money, to be completely honest.
Posted by Liz on December 31st, 2008Maybe this will get them to make the final book into one film instead of two. I wonder if they is more econimical or not. 7 books into 7 films makes more sense than 7 books into 6 or 8 films.
Posted by Shannon the Movie Moxie on December 31st, 2008The chances of this happening are almost zero ..
IF warners cancels this people will start boycotting warners movies .This is a very big frachise and it has already made warners a great load of money . harry potter has a very large following and even if warners is stupid enough to pass it , there s always another studious , they will jump over this franchise like dementors on an escaped prisoner.
Posted by arsenal27 on December 31st, 2008Leave a Reply